Watching the exploits of Odell Beckham Jr. reminded Giants co-owner John Mara of another rookie way back when.

“For me, you would have to go back to 1981 before we were that excited about a rookie coming in and what he could possibly mean to this franchise,’’ Mara said, referring to Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. “I hesitate to say that because I do not want to put that much pressure on him, but he certainly has brought a lot to this organization.’’

Beckham missed the first four games of the season and went on to finish with 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Lawrence TaylorAP

“The energy and passion that he brought to our team was pretty startling,’’ Mara said.

Mara laughed when it was suggested he forced Tom Coughlin to hire offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo last year.

“A year ago, I didn’t know Ben McAdoo from Bob McAdoo,’’ Mara said. “The first time I met him was after Tom had hired him and I went down and introduced myself and welcomed him here.’’
Mara also denied he prompted the ouster of Kevin Gilbride, McAdoo’s predecessor.

“Tom was not forced to part ways with Kevin Gilbride last year,’’ Mara said. “That was a discussion that Tom and Kevin had. We walked into Jerry [Reese’s] office and Tom came in and said to us that Kevin was going to be retiring. Before we said anything to him. This notion that we forced him to fire Kevin Gilbride is absolutely not true.’’

There will be at least one change to Coughlin’s staff, as Eli Manning will have to adjust to his third quarterbacks coach in three years. Danny Langsdorf will leave after one season to become the offensive coordinator at Nebraska, where he will reunite with Mike Riley. Lansdorf worked for Riley at Oregon State. Coughlin did not sound pleased with Langsdorf’s departure.

“He is leaving,’’ Coughlin said. “It’s his choice. You don’t expect someone to be here for a year, but that’s his decision. Wish him well. Let’s go.’’

It appears Coughlin is sticking with Tom Quinn as the special teams coach. “I’m not down on the way things are coached and the variety of things that are ready to go,’’ Coughlin said of the Giants’ special teams.

Despite reducing the workload on the field in practice and utilizing the latest GPS technology to chart the movements of every player, the Giants for a second straight season were devastated by injuries, putting 22 plays on injured reserve.

“We have cut down on our soft-tissue injuries,’’ Coughlin said. “However, there are bones and there are tendons and muscles and knees that didn’t listen to the GPS program, so we’ll continue to do our work in that area.’’